By way of example, DE 36 39 389 A1 discloses a chain drive of an internal combustion engine having a hydraulically activated tensioning system. The tensioning system comprises a housing which is filled with a hydraulic fluid and in which a piston which is configured in a hollow cylindrical fashion and to which a spring force is applied is displaceably guided. In this context, the piston is operatively connected directly to a tensioning rail which is supported on the empty strand of the traction mechanism. The tensioning rail has a bore in the supporting region of the piston on said tensioning rail. The size of the bore is dimensioned such that a spray oil quantity which emerges via the piston is directed immediately onto the outer contour of the traction means by the tensioning rail. This measure serves to reduce the friction between the traction means and the tensioning rail by selective lubrication. This measure for achieving a means of guiding the traction means on the tensioning rail in a way which reduces friction requires a special cylinder housing and an adapted tensioning rail to be formed.
DE 36 09 579 A1 discloses a traction mechanism for an internal combustion engine which has, as traction means, a control chain which is pretensioned by means of a tensioning rail. In this context, a bearing point of the tensioning rail comprises spray bores which are offset with respect to one another and via which a lubricant is fed directly to the control chain. This lubrication of the traction means requires a relatively high flow rate of the lubricant in order to be able to feed sufficient lubricant to the control chain simultaneously via all the spray bores which are arranged offset with respect to one another.